Road Trip

We are going on a road trip to Tampa.  We will be staying with my brave aunt and uncle who have been kind enough to provide a jet ski!, not to get there but for fun when we arrive via asphalt.  I hope to be a total bum while there.  We are leaving Queenie in charge.  If you don’t know Queenie then don’t find yourself in my yard while we are gone!  She only licks after she eats:)

Thunder Phobia

Our location is the scene of an ocassional dog visitor.  Most of the dogs that visit us invade our privacy and display the most obnoxious behaviour as they blast through our property defecating and running aimlessly through my garage.  Sometimes these dog visitors commit the unpardonable sin of approaching my small children in a haphazard kind of way.  Thankfully we have Queenie and Luke to guard our property against unwanted company of the dog kind.  Queenie is our American Bulldog and Luke is a Chow and Lab mix.  Both have good and predictable temperaments towards other dogs.  Queenie will not tolerate another dog entering our yard.  If a dog does breach security and does enter, Queenie will usually ram, slap, or snap the dogs muzzle until the un-invited guest leaves.  With Luke’s ferocious bark and Queenie’s warning bites, the intruder normally leaves quickly.  However, today our neighbors dog came over and insisted on staying despite Queenie,s repeated bites to the muzzle and Luke’s attempt to herd the dog out of the yard.  Things became very nasty as the dog ran towards me to take shelter in my garage.  I hate dogs in my garage!  It turns out that this dog was frightened of the thunder as a thunderstorm was brewing.  I’ve learned that scared dogs are much more dangerous than aggressive dogs in that they are very unpredictable.  I had Caleb slip a lead on the dog’s neck to get it out of the garage and Caleb had to pull with all of his weight to get the knuckle head to move.  Also Queenie will nip and herd on command so I had Queenie encourage the dog to move as she politely nipped his rear.  That is when it got nasty.  The dog turned into Mr. nasty dog and began fighting with all he had!  Queenie then returned with an escalated correction.  This dog was much bigger than Queenie but she was able to quickly over power him by getting under him and knocking him over.  Meanwhile Luke joined in the skirmish as he was biting the rib area and trying to lock down on the neck.  Queenie then got the dog’s upper hind leg and began dragging it and death shaking the limb to which I realized that this was going to be deadly in just a few seconds.  Caleb and Zack and I were very careful to stay out-of-the-way and Queenie loosened her death grip upon command and we were able to further herd the frightened dog towards the exit.  After our unwanted guest left we found that Queenie had a few scratches along with a nasty cut under her eye.  Luke was cut behind the ear and had a small cut on his tongue.  I am thankful that Luke was there to help thwart any other nasty wounds to Queenie.  This dog was fighting like a wild Lion so I was very proud of Luke and Queenie’s courage because after all, they were desperately trying to protect their people!  Below are a few shots of Queenie’s wound after receiving triple anti-biotic cream.

Wednesday Miscellaneous

The boys and I completed another project today!  We received our electric fence from havahart company and we installed it in our kennel.  This was the best application for us to prevent ’digging under’ that Queenie is so good at doing.  We also re-inforced a section of kennel fence that Queenie has managed to, time and time again, simply crawl under after a little digging.  The kennel is now fully escape proof with the exception that Queenie could easily jump on top of her house and then over the six-foot fence.  She could also go farther South in the kennel and dig under a section that does not have the electric fence installed  but I think she wouldn’t chance her shock collar going off seeing that her boundary is close to that section.  This is a big plate all cleaned up for me dude!  Now I prepare for the final 2011 project of installing a brick sidewalk to our front door.  This is a heavily traveled section of yard that has worn completely out.  Specifically, we can’t keep grass through this area and the resultant dirt is a daily chore to remove from our indoor living that us creatures so adore!  If I can accomplish this project I will only have two more to go and our total construction plan contrived in 2003 and started in 2004 will be finally completed.  I can then live as a normal human.  What are those final two projects?  Glad you asked!  I have a breezeway connecting the garage and house to construct and a small hip-roofed carport to install on the gable end of my garage.  Eight years of construction thus far with another year to go, but everything is paid for so far.  Pray for me as it seems more and more difficult to accomplish these things as work has run out and income is terribly strained.

Dog house project and Bible Trivia

So I haven’t finished the dog house project after all:(  However I have uploaded a few photos of a great start below.  I believe I should get an ‘A’ for effort!  All of this has reminded me of a saying,

“Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation”.

Our Bible Trivia is one of discernment.  Can you discern whether or not if this is an actual Bible verse?  If so, where is it?  If you were a guessing person what would you believe this means?  Any thoughts or consideration on your part is greatly appreciated.  Please feel free to share in the comment box.  In fact, I dare you!

Dog house project

Tomorrow my boys and I hope to complete a new dog house for my dogs Luke and Queenie.  We are planning on about 32 inches across the front sloping to a mere 29 inches in the back.  It should be about 6 ft. wide and about 30-32 inches for the depth.  We will also elevate the floor to about a foot off the ground.   Once we have it framed we will wrap on the sides with cypress.  Those boards are about 11 inches wide and will be installed vertically with a 2 inch strip trimming each joint.  We also plan on topping it off with either tin or galvalume.  Once we complete the construction we will then place it in our kennel up against our cedar privacy fence.  To ensure our bulldogs containment we will extend our 6 ft. fence to about 8 and one half ft high so as to prevent her from standing on top of the dog house and jumping over.  Hopefully tomorrow I’ll upload some photos even if we don’t complete it.

Also wondering what long hair is on a women.  What I mean is, when you see a women with long hair that causes you to say, “she has long hair”, what exactly is the length?  Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Economic boost

Finally!!!!!!My drywall crew is getting more work.  Our gross sales are waaaaaaaaaaaaaayyy down but we are grateful for even the slightest increase in work load.  However, our paint crew is way down with little prospects.  Please pray for our company.  Our business directly supports three families and with gross sales down 75% compared to two years ago…..well you get the point.  Also we have an opportunity to bid on a very large project locally so that would be nice to secure.

Tomorrow involves a trip to Georgia and then home for the weekend when I finish up the friday responsibilities.  Several topics of interest have been going through my mind this week.  Mormonism, Freemasonry, Calvinism, Christian modesty, Non-resistance, and God’s love for all people and His desire that the lost would come to Him for rest.

Finally, as of this week my dog Queenie and I have connected.  No she didn’t bite me nor did I bite her but that she is now comprehending her obedience classes and she is actually interested in pleasing me now.  For all you dog trainers, you know what I mean.   Her heeling is good and she is grasping the idea that her shoulder shouldn’t exceed my leg.  She is also getting rather quick to sit when I stop.  She remains reluctant to the ‘come’ command but thankfully with the lead I can real her in but she does finish from her sit position directly in front of me to beside me rather well.  Her sit stay is excellent and she gets proud of herself for the praise I give her when she completes the duration of that command.  As of now she totally refuses to comply with the ‘down’ command.  I suspect that her total stubborn temperament will continue to pump enough rebellion through her veins but repetition daily should overcome even that.  Maybe I’ll upload a video of one of her training sessions.

Good Sunday

Today we had fellowship at our home.  I taught Hebrews Chapter 1 and we also had some good singing.  Afterwards my family walked to a nearby creek just down from our house.  On the guard rails at the creek we found the inscription Trinity on the wood posts that support the guard rails.  So of course I had Joanna take a photo of it.  I wonder if the company that is named Trinity has any affiliation with God?   Also our Lab/Chow mix named Luke and our American Bulldog named Queenie accompanied us.  Queenie has been learning to swim lately ( she has always known how, instinct duh! ).  Her form is what I mean, viz. she is getting  better at it.  Check out the video below.  Also I have had the privilege of baptizing a few people here at this creek and we fish there as well along with an occassional swim.  This place has been the source for much fun for the past twenty years.  See ya!